A bridge to his past

A while back, I compared John Kerry’s candidacy to that of Robert Dole in 1996. I arguied that Kerry was similar to Dole in that he was a safe candidate from the mainstream of his party who wouldl win essentially all of the votes that a Democrat should win, given the president’s standing, but no more. I still view Kerry that way, but now believe that this number of votes might carry him to victory. I also think that Kerry will make a somewhat better candidate than Dole did.
You may recall that Dole, a World War II hero, offered to serve as “a bridge to the past.” Unfortunately, the public wasn’t particularly interested. As this piece by Byron York shows, Kerry is also quite the backward looking candidate. However, he adds an element of narcissism that Dole did not exhibit. For example, having restaged and filmed the skirmish through which he won the Silver Star shortly after it occurred, Kerry apparently often watches the film on his fancy home entertainment center. Rumor has it that he used to show the film to his dates. As York concludes, “This man is living in a time warp. No wonder Kerry sees any conflict